Easy Silence
by Kenta Divina
Summary: Sometimes the strong need support. Karin wants solitude, but Chad seems to know what she needs.


Author's note: Some fluff for a cold December. Yes – shoot me for not finishing FMA first. SORRY!

Easy Silence

Orange slight glinted off of the water in the river. The glow of gold fell on a lonely figure with knees drawn up to a chin and black hair half-covering a face. A baseball cap shielded dark eyes from the glare of the setting sun. Those who knew her would have been stunned by the vulnerable posture of Karin Kurosaki.

Karin was loud. She was blunt. She knew what she wanted and let nothing stop her to get it. But sometimes she simply sat alone, quiet, contemplating. Rarely did anyone catch her in such a moment and if they did they suffered a blistering glare for the interruption and screeches for interrupting her 'nap.'

When she played soccer, she threw her entire being into action. When she protected her friends, it was with a fierceness that rivaled that of a lioness. When she made a friend, she made it a life-long commitment. When she made that decision, she thought long and hard about it.

Sometimes.

Sometimes things happened without thought. Sometimes things were so comfortable, it was only natural to hold on. Her friendship with Orihime was one of those things. The respect she held for Hitsugaya fell into place with her first look at him and the confidence he carried on his shoulders.

Sometimes things happened that she had no time to contemplate – so she did so after the fact.

She relished her moments of solitude. Not that she disliked company – but her whole life was full of people, the living and the dead. Her extra sense simply made daily life a bit more crowded. Home was just about as loud and unpredictable with the clinic to run, her father to keep in line, and siblings to look out for. Even Ichigo needed tending to when he came home from wherever, usually worn out, dirty and hungry.

She always ran her mouth with complaints, but she never turned away.

Regret tried to creep in to her moments. She always fought it off, but it lingered like a bad aftertaste. She tried not to regret her mother passing. She tried not to regret that her responsibilities had turned her into the scary Kurosaki girl who you do _not_ mess with. She tried to remember Yuzu who needed to know her twin would always be strong.

But sometimes it all seemed like too much and she ran. Never far, but just enough for just a little while - an escape for a moment.

The sound of footsteps behind her set her face in a scowl. She turned, back stiff. Peering up at the unfortunate being that chose to interrupt her sanctuary, she blinked.

Chad Yasutora stared out over the river. From the ground, he looked like a giant – a strange giant in a very loud pink shirt that clashed horribly with the orange sunset. Her glare bounced off of him. She wondered if there was even a glare large enough to dent his calm front.

"What do you want?" She snarled.

Her answer was only a shrug. He finally looked down at her, his dark brown eyes far more understanding than she liked.

"I was here first. Find your own river."

He only shrugged again, hands in his pockets.

"Your shirts are horrible – no one else will say it, but I will."

The giant only shrugged and it was really starting to irritate her. When he actually had the nerve to sit down on the ground next to her, she really got steamed.

"Do you not pick on hints? _Go away_! I was here first and I don't want company."

She raised a fist and slammed it into his shoulder. A tiny bit of regret undermined her anger but she ignored it in favor for righteous anger. He didn't even flinch. His heavy bangs covered the half of his face near her. She reached over and grabbed a handful of them to look him in the eye. Before she could speak, he gave her a tiny smile that hardly twitched the corner of his mouth and interrupted,

"I'm not here for the river."

That threw her. Sullenly, she released his hair and wrapped her arms around her knees. It was stupid to get so frustrated over such a small thing. She really should leave. She could leave, but her inherent stubbornness said that she had first dibs and was not going to give them up.

She waited.

The sun began melting into the horizon and the silence lengthened. Karin's thoughts wandered. Her brother had been away again for the same unknown reasons that always took him away. She missed him. Not that the Kurosaki family overly expressed their affection to one another, outside of their obnoxious father. She simply missed knowing that someone stronger than even her would be there if she needed it. Even the mighty can fall – it was something she learned early in life while working at the clinic.

Even the mighty… Karin's head came off of her knees and she looked at the relaxed length of Chad next to her. He had stretched out on the grassy slope without invitation, only propped up on his elbows to continue to stare at the dying sun. Only his eyes moved to catch her own. The tone of silence changed, and suddenly Karin was grateful.

When he moved, it didn't startle her. He simply sat up and imitated her posture, resting his arms on his knees. Doing so brought him a bit closer but she didn't mind. He was warm in the cooling hour of evening.

She didn't know why he had come. She didn't know how he had seen her down on the slope and out of direct view from any of the sidewalks. All she did know was that without any words, he had calmed her doubts and rebuilt her spirit. They were both strong. They were both not strong enough. They were independent, but the dependents. Yet they both had this easy silence to call their own.

Karin let herself lean against his hard shoulder for a moment in the early twilight. Her eyes closed against the gaudy pink flowers and she bit back a sigh. Then she stood, brushed off her pants and looked at the river one more time. Glancing down at her unexpected, voiceless councilor she pushed her hands into her pockets and walked away.

Author's Note: Well, I'm not sure I pulled of the feel I wanted. I like this pair – how they work together despite being so different in nature. They are not the kind to use words, but there is an understanding about how they live their lives and their responsibilities. Others rely on them and almost take them for granted that it seemed only natural that they can turn to each other.

I am in Japan – teaching and studying. Motivation to write is hard to come by. When this inspiration came last night, I jumped on it.


End file.
